These are the forum rules in their most simple format. Explanations of each rule can be found in the following post. Some forums have additional specific rules that can be found in stickies and announcements in the appropriate areas.

1. Standard forum rules apply; no flaming, no trolling, no spamming.2. Use the Report This Post button on rulebreaking posts rather than replying to them. Do Not Reply To Spam. 3. You cannot post any links before you have reached five posts. < - Reworded and expanded below to explain our new spam blocking features.. IF YOU HAVE ANY SORT OF LINK AT ALL IN YOUR POST, THE POST WILL NOT BE READ BY A MODERATOR, IT WILL JUST BE DELETED.4. Search first to see if a thread on a topic you wish to discuss has already been created.5. Try and keep off-topic posts controlled. If the thread you want to post in seems off-topic, post anyway. On-topic posts always take precedence over off-topic.6. Please keep posts entirely consisting of "QFT" or "seconded", "thirded", etc. at a minimum. If you don't have anything to contribute to the conversation, then by all means don't.7. Do not double post. Use the Edit Button.8. Do not cross post in multiple boards. You may link to existing posts and threads when relevant, but do not reproduce them entirely.9. Do not post browser-crashing pranks.10. Do not post blocks of coloured text. Red text is reserved for mods, so please do not use any shade of red at all.11. Keep signature images under 100 px vertically and keep the filesize as low as possible.12. Handle moderation concerns through the proper channels - do not start a thread about it, and do not derail a current thread to discuss it. PM the moderator in question, or if that's not known, PM Azrael or SecondTalon.13. If you have any questions or issues or anything you'd like to talk to us about, feel free to PM a moderator and we'll see what we can do for you.14. Respect [safespace] tags. Please note, all of Dear SB is a safespace.<- Expanded what respect safespace means in below post15. It is not recommended to capitalize "davean".

Just so you know: When you submit your first post, it will be dropped into a queue to await moderator approval. Until it clears all your other posts will also drop into the queue. Members with <5 post count can't enter a website, create a signature, PM multiple users or have links in posts. Or rather, they can, but the post will be denied without being read. Even yours. You are not special, and whatever you’re trying to link can wait. Low quality “Thanks” “Great post” style posts will also be denied as these are 99.999% of the time a spambot, not a person.

We all share these forums, and we're all mature, responsible people. We don't really need people being immature, spamming, flaming, any of that - if you want to post on the forums, it should be because you enjoy interacting with people on this sort of level, not because you want to go making an arse of yourself everywhere. Warnings will be issued for posts that are deemed disrespectful and in breach of this rule. Serious breaches may result in temporary or even permanent bans.

2. Use the Report This Post button on rulebreaking posts rather than replying to them. Do Not Reply To Spam.

This is the report post button, as you would see in prosilver. Use this to notify us of threads in which you would like some moderator action to be performed.

Some examples of good uses are:- Reporting spam posts.- Reporting flaming, trolling or otherwise inappropriate posts.- Reporting duplicate threads. When notifying us of duplicate threads, please include the URL of the already existing thread. Reports simply saying “Been done” are not helpful.

Some bad uses include:- You don't agree with someone's opinion or style of argument.- Complaining about a moderator’s actions.- Because you think it's funny.

All you need to do is throw up the report, and then business as usual. Do not post in the thread to tell someone they've broken a rule without reporting it, and preferably, don't post in the thread to tell someone they've broken the rule at all. It derails the thread, and makes more work for us by making problems harder to find and reports harder to deal with.

Importantly, do not reply to spam. If you think something is spam in a thread, do not reply to it, do not acknowledge it, do not quote it, just go about your business and pretend it's not there. If it's a brand new thread the spambot created, do not reply to it. Report it and then pretend it doesn't exist.

Lastly, when a report is dealt with, it is dealt with. If it is not done exactly as you wanted or anticipated, there are good reasons for it. Please do not continue to throw up reports on threads if nothing else that needs our attention has happened.

3. You cannot post any links before you have reached five posts.

Please do not post any links or perform any form of self-promotion until you have a post count of at least five. We have our reasons. Not all spammers are bots, and it can be hard to tell the difference between somebody pointing out somebody else's cool webpage, somebody advertising out their cool webpage, or someone posting malicious links. Because of this, if you have any links in your first post, the entire post will be deleted. Also, pushing your post count up to five with useless posts and then posting your link and vanishing will go over poorly.

“But my link was relevant to the conversation and I think by post was blocked without a moderator even reading it!”

Oh. Gosh. Whatever shall we do. A moderator didn’t read an entire post before blocking it. Gosh. If only there were rules explaining this that should have been read first. Gee golly. What a shame.

That said, there is a list of acceptable and unacceptable words or fragments that first time posters can and cannot use. www will be immediately flagged as spam, as will .com or http. This means that if you fail to hit space between a period and the word commence, it will be blocked as spam as it hits the ".com" flag. You will get a message stating "This message has been flagged as spam and has been blocked" if you attempt to do so. This will go away once you have a few posts under your belt. We do apologize for this inconvenience, but your momentary inconvenience is outweighed by our convenience of not having to block 500+ spam messages a day.

And no, the list of blocked words will not be made public.

4. Search first to see if a thread on a topic you wish to discuss has already been created.

No forum needs five threads dedicated to the same thing. If you want to create a new thread, search first to see if a thread has already been created. There is a search function at the top right at the page, and search tips available in Guide to the forums for newbies. Chances are, if we have an existing thread, we're just going to lock or delete any new ones and post the link to the proper thread. Threads we want you to use for popular topics of conversation are listed for you in the Forum Guide for newbies sticky at the top of General. (If you have any suggestions for threads to be added to this list, please PM hermaj.) Similarly, if you're having issues with the site or forums, please check out the Site/Forum Issues FAQ before posting your query.

5. Try and keep off-topic posts controlled. If the thread you want to post in seems off-topic, post anyway. On-topic posts always take precedence over off-topic.

Off-topic posts are rife in this forum. We maintain a very casual atmosphere here where conversation can flow quite freely - however, we have our limits. If off-topic posts get too over the top, the thread may be split or locked, so try and keep off-topic posts controlled. You are welcome to start a new thread and continue the new discussion there, or throw up a report if you feel it is necessary for us to split the thread.

These posts just aren't necessary without some additional comment, and will be removed or otherwise edited for our amusement. If you don't have anything to contribute to the conversation, then by all means don't.

7. Do not double post. Use the Edit Button.

To clarify, double posting refers to any two posts in a row made by you, even if they have completely different content. If you’re addressing multiple people, all your replies go in the same post. You are able to easily quote as many people as you like by scrolling through the thread review and hitting the quote button, so there should be no excuses.

The only time double posts may be permitted is to bump threads. There is a brief outline of situations in which it is okay to double post to bump available here; if you are at all uncertain, please PM a mod.

8. Do not cross post in multiple boards.

This refers to creating exactly the same thread in several boards, either to ensure it is in the correct board or because you want as many people as possible to see it. Cross-posting will do nothing but ensure that all instances of the thread are deleted. If you’re not sure where to post a thread, post it in the most likely forum and we will move it if we think it is wrong.

Cross-posting does not refer to linking to other relevant posts and threads within existing posts and threads. This is always acceptable. Posting in other threads about how you need help in your thread with a link to that thread to try and maximize the views of your thread just makes you seem clingy, needy, and a bit whiny.

9. Do not post browser-crashing pranks.

We will instantly, permanently ban anyone we see posting a link that leads to a browser-crashing prank, the most notorious one here being a browser-affecting Rickroll. It is not funny. It is dickish. Posting any sort of link that negatively affects a user's browser, such as creating dozens of popups, javascript or otherwise, will get you banned. Regular YouTube rick-rolls will probably not get you banned, but they are still stupid and highly frowned upon.

We don't care that it works fine on your end. We don't care that you think it was funny and it was just a joke. Many of us browse the forums with multiple browser windows or tabs open, many times in the middle of writing out posts or messages in other tabs or any other sort of work. Something that causes steals control from the user until the user jumps through a series of hoops is not funny. Ever. Especially if said hoops cause the browser to crash, resulting in the loss of data on the user.

Just don't do it.

10. Do not post blocks of coloured text.

Coloring a word here and there is fine, but please don't post blocks of coloured text. The fora become a headache-inducing rainbow of unreadableness. Red text is reserved for mods, so please don't use any shade of red, even in small amounts.

11. Keep signature images under 100 px vertically and keep the filesize as low as possible.

Keep signature images to around 100 px vertically. Also keep the filesize down. This is to help the dial-up users (Yes, they still exist!) as well as not stretching the length of the page unnecessarily. Also keep in mind that generally, even signature images within the size boundaries are tolerated, not encouraged.

12. Handle moderation concerns through the proper channels - do not start a thread about it, and do not derail a current thread to discuss it. PM the moderator in question, or if that's not known, PM Belial.

Moderator concerns are to be dealt with privately. If you are unhappy with a decision made by a moderator, PM the moderator in question, or if that's not known, contact Belial. If you're not sure which moderator it was, and the situation occurred in an area looked after by one or more magistrates, they should be your first point of call for that area. In any case, it's a good idea to PM a mod that frequents the board you're having issues on for a faster response.

Do not shop around among the moderators until you get the response you want. We do all talk to each other, and that will likely only make things worse for you. If, however, after speaking to a moderator you still feel that your situation was not dealt with appropriately or fairly, you may bring it to an admin.

13. If you have any questions or issues or anything you'd like to talk to us about, feel free to PM a moderator and we'll see what we can do for you.

We are not big scary angry people! If you have any questions or issues or anything you'd like to talk to us about, feel free to PM a moderator. If you do not want to PM, you are more than welcome to utilise the Site/Forum issues forum to clarify issues or request features.

14. Respect [safespace] tagsThe [safespace] tag in the thread title means:- This is a thread for people who share a characteristic/experience to discuss what it's like when you have that characteristic/experience without having to deal with the arguments/dismissiveness/"education"/dilettantism they would likely encounter while attempting to discuss that characteristic/experience outside the protected area.- This is not a debate thread. Debate threads can be found elsewhere on the fora.- If you are unsure if what you are saying is appropriate for a safe space, don't say it. This is not a thread to tell people that their personal experiences are No Big Deal or explain to people who have a particular characteristic/experience about how incorrectly they are perceiving their own lives and experiences even if you are just sure that you are performing for them a valuable service and genuinely enlightening them. Just don't.- Please also remember that safespaces are not there for your edification. They are there for members of that group to share experiences and support (you can also share support as a non-member, but please tread carefully). Do not treat them as a curiosity.